Nintendo GameCube Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, released in 2003 for the Nintendo GameCube, introduced a number of new gameplay features. The most prominent feature is co-op gameplay with two riders per kart, where one player drives and the other uses items. This is also the first game to allow everyone to move on regardless of which position they earned after each race. In addition to 9 of the 10 characters who return from previous installments (excluding Donkey Kong Jr.), 11 new playable characters are added: Diddy Kong, Bowser Jr., Birdo, Princess Daisy, Waluigi, Koopa Paratroopa, babies Mario and Luigi, Petey Piranha, King Boo, and the newly-created Toadette. Each pair of drivers is assigned their own unique special item (e.g. fireballs for Mario and Luigi, or giant bananas for Donkey and Diddy Kong). Individual characters also gain their own unique custom-designed karts. Another new addition is the "All-Cup Tour," which has the player race in every track at the same time; once this is cleared on the highest difficulty setting, the player can unlock a "Parade Kart," which can be used by any character of any weight.
Many Final Fantasy games have been included in various lists of top games. Several games have been listed on multiple IGN "Top Games" lists.[158][159][160][161][162][163] Eleven games were listed on Famitsu's 2006 "Top 100 Favorite Games of All Time", four of which were in the top ten, with Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy VII coming first and second, respectively.[164] The series holds seven Guinness World Records in the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008, which include the "Most Games in an RPG Series" (13 main games, seven enhanced games, and 32 spin-off games), the "Longest Development Period" (the production of Final Fantasy XII took five years), and the "Fastest-Selling Console RPG in a Single Day" (Final Fantasy X).[142][165] The 2009 edition listed two games from the series among the top 50 consoles games: Final Fantasy XII at number 8 and Final Fantasy VII at number 20.[166]
Though Capcom owns the rights to all Mega Man games and has been responsible for the development of all of his console titles, it has in the past licensed the Mega Man character to other companies for PC releases. Mega Man and Mega Man III (with no relation to the NES games of the same name) were developed by the US-based Hi-Tech Expressions, the Mega Man game published on the Game Gear by Sega, and Rockman Strategy was developed and released exclusively in China by AcerTWP. Neither title has since been regarded by Capcom as an official Mega Man series game.
In Twilight Princess, following Zelda's surrender to Zant and due to the general ineffectiveness of the Hyrulean Soldiers, Telma formed a Resistance group dedicated to restoring the Kingdom of Hyrule to its glorious self. The Resistance included Zelda's former tutor, Auru, and Ashei, who is revealed to be the daughter of a former Knight who had served the Royal Family in the past. Loyal to both Zelda and the Kingdom, the Resistance members all aid Link (and by extension Midna) in freeing Hyrule. During Link's battles through Hyrule Castle, most of the members (minus Telma and Louise) arrive to assist the hero in fighting Ganondorf's minions, allowing him and Midna to reach the castle throne room.
The Princess throws the Ocarina of Time into the moat in front of Hyrule Castle Town for Link to retrieve; as he touches it, Zelda appears before him in a vision and teaches him the "Song of Time", the final key to the Sacred Realm. Ironically, since the final barrier in the Sacred Realm could only be broken by the chosen Hero of Time, had Zelda not attempted to retrieve Triforce before Ganondorf, the timeline split and tragedies of the Adult Timeline could have been avoided.
1UP.com described Mega Man as "Capcom's ill-treated mascot", and "one of the most incongruous characters of all time", saying "it wouldn't be completely incorrect to assume that the popularity of the series has almost nothing to do with Mega Man himself", but with "his rivals, his enemies, and their abilities."[60] IGN agreed with his dependency on support characters, saying Zero is "cooler than Mega Man".[61] Den of Geek listed Mega Man's incarnation from Street Fighter X Tekken as the 15th best cameo in fighting game history due to how it represented Capcom's lack of interest in featuring other games as of 2012, as well as the apparent self-mockery of it due to Mega Man's poor characterization.[62] Destructoid described this Mega Man as "legit" stating it was "an unexpected and interesting creative decision by [Capcom] using this version of Mega Man to represent them in what may be one of their biggest games of 2012".[63]
"The Legend of Zelda Theme" is a recurring piece of music that was created for the first game of the franchise. The composer and sound director of the series, Koji Kondo, initially planned to use Maurice Ravel's Boléro as the game's title theme, but was forced to change it when he learned, late in the game's development cycle, that the copyright for the orchestral piece had not yet expired. As a result, Kondo wrote a new arrangement of the overworld theme within one day.[7] The "Zelda Theme" has topped ScrewAttack's "Top Ten Videogame Themes Ever" list.[8]

Launched in conjunction with the twentieth anniversary of FINAL FANTASY, this concert production features the music of the great video game series FINAL FANTASY and composer Nobuo Uematsu. The concerts are performed by symphony orchestra, choir, and renowned vocal and instrumental soloists, under the direction of GRAMMY Award-winner and acclaimed conductor Arnie Roth. With HD video direct from the FINAL FANTASY game developers SQUARE ENIX projected onto giant screens throughout the concerts, a rapidly growing repertoire of classic FINAL FANTASY music, and an extraordinary fan base, Distant Worlds is a unique multimedia concert experience every time.

The tracks in Mario Kart Wii are based thematically on locations seen in the Mario series,[original research?] such as Bowser's Castle. Each of the eight cups features four different tracks for a total of 32 unique tracks, 16 of which are new to the series, while the other 16 are several tracks ported from previous installments.[6] The cups (groups of tracks) are the Mushroom, Flower, Star, Special, Shell, Banana, Leaf, and Lightning Cups. The Shell, Banana, Leaf, and Lightning Cups each contain retro tracks, updated versions of tracks originally found in the five previous Mario Kart installments. There are ten arena courses available for Battle mode, which include five original courses and five retro courses.[7]
Back to Zelda though, the atmosphere, graphics, sound and gameplay are all SPOT ON. There's crafting of Food, Potions, Weapons and Armor as well as a bunch of quests, side quests and tons of hidden content to keep you engrossed for at least the next several months... The Game of the Year buzz that this game has received is 100% deserved. Get this game! You will LOVE It!
The introduction of The Adventure of Link speaks of the legend of Zelda, a legend that has been passed down in Hyrule.[98] According to that legend, well before the events of The Legend of Zelda, Hyrule was a prosperous land ruled by a king who had two children, an unnamed prince and Princess Zelda. The King maintained peace in Hyrule using the Triforce; however, he passed away, and although the prince should have received the Triforce in full, he only received a part of it.[99] The prince frantically searched in vain everywhere for the remaining piece, but then a wizard came to the Prince and tells him that his younger sister, Zelda, knows the location of the mystical object.[100] The prince demands that Zelda turn the information over to him, but Zelda refuses and, in a rage, the wizard puts Zelda into an eternal sleep, with him dying in the process.[101] Overcome with grief, the prince seals his sleeping sister in the North Palace and orders that all female descendants of the Hylian monarchy are to be named Zelda.[41]

Nintendo's 2011 timeline announcement subsequently posits that following Ocarina of Time, the timeline splits into three alternate routes: in one, Link fails to defeat Ganon, leading into the Imprisoning War and A Link to the Past, Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, Link's Awakening, The Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link. In the second and third, Link is successful, leading to a timeline split between his childhood (when Zelda sends him back in time so he can use the wisdom he has gained to warn the Zelda in the past of the horrifying fate of Hyrule) and adulthood (where the Zelda from the future lives on to try and rebuild the kingdom). His childhood continues with Majora's Mask, followed by Twilight Princess and Four Swords Adventures. The timeline from his adult life continues into Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks.

The series has overall enjoyed high critical acclaim, with varying success. Of the main series, six titles have reached a Metacritic score of or above 90: Final Fantasy VI at 91,[29] Final Fantasy VII at 92,[30] Final Fantasy VIII at 90,[31] Final Fantasy IX at 94,[32] Final Fantasy X at 92,[33] and Final Fantasy XII at 92.[34] The only game to reach a Metacritic score below 70 was the original Final Fantasy XIV launch at 49,[35], though the subsequent re-release, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, reached a score of 83.[36] The most critically acclaimed release was Final Fantasy IX,[32] while the poorest received by critics was the original Final Fantasy XIV.[35] Spinoffs, likewise, have enjoyed varied critical reception, though lower than that of the main series. Many spinoffs have been well received, such as Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions,[37] Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy[38] and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call.[39] Many other spinoffs have been poorly received, such as Final Fantasy: All the Bravest,[40] Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-,[41] and Final Fantasy IV: The After Years.[42]
The series was the first series to win a Walk of Game star in 2006, for seeking perfection and for being a risk taker in innovation.[52] GameFAQs held a contest in 2006 for the best game series of all time in which Final Fantasy appeared just behind The Legend of Zelda at second place;[69] additionally, the site has listed Final Fantasy VII as the best game of all time in 2004's top 100 games list, and in a 2014, featured two titles in its top 100 games list*.[70] In 2006, IGN listed the Final Fantasy series as the third greatest series of all time;[71] the site also listed three titles in its top 100 games list*,[72] nine titles in its top 100 RPGs list [73] two titles in their top PlayStation 2 games list*,[74] and two titles in their top 25 SNES games list*.[75]
Taking place in Cologne, Germany, on September 23, 2010, the video game music concert Symphonic Legends focused on music from Nintendo and, among others, featured games such as The Legend of Zelda. Following an intermission, the second half of the concert was entirely dedicated to an expansive symphonic poem dedicated to the series. The 35-minute epic tells the story of Link's evolution from child to hero.[213][214]
The Legend of Zelda takes place predominantly in a medieval Western Europe-inspired fantasy land called Hyrule, which has developed a deep history and wide geography over the series' many releases. Much of the backstory of the creation of Hyrule was revealed in the games A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, and A Link Between Worlds. Hyrule's principal inhabitants are pointy-eared humanoids called Hylians, which include the player character, Link, and the eponymous princess, Zelda.
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! features co-operative LAN play and two-player karts.[3] It also introduces eleven new playable characters (Princess Daisy, Birdo, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Paratroopa, Diddy Kong, Bowser Jr., Waluigi, Toadette, Petey Piranha, and King Boo). The game also features special items that are specific to each character. Finally, this game introduced unlockable characters and karts to the series.
In 2005, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, a theatrical CGI film, and Last Order: Final Fantasy VII, a non-canon OVA,[48] were released as part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. Advent Children was animated by Visual Works, which helped the company create CG sequences for the games.[49] The film, unlike The Spirits Within, gained mixed to positive reviews from critics[50][51][52] and has become a commercial success.[53] Last Order, on the other hand, was released in Japan in a special DVD bundle package with Advent Children. Last Order sold out quickly[54] and was positively received by Western critics,[55][56] though fan reaction was mixed over changes to established story scenes.[57]
The central conflict in many Final Fantasy games focuses on a group of characters battling an evil, and sometimes ancient, antagonist that dominates the game's world. Stories frequently involve a sovereign state in rebellion, with the protagonists taking part in the rebellion. The heroes are often destined to defeat the evil, and occasionally gather as a direct result of the antagonist's malicious actions.[3][74] Another staple of the series is the existence of two villains; the main villain is not always who it appears to be, as the primary antagonist may actually be subservient to another character or entity.[3] The main antagonist introduced at the beginning of the game is not always the final enemy, and the characters must continue their quest beyond what appears to be the final fight.[74]
Zelda then took the Master Sword to the Great Deku Tree in Korok Forest, considering it a safe place for the blade to rest for the next century though noted while Link would likely lose his memories as a result of the Slumber of Restoration she was certain the blade would reunite with its "master". Zelda tried to get the tree deity to relay a message he politely refused advising her it would sound better in her voice which Zelda took as a complement before placing the sword in its pedestal. After saying her goodbye to the tree, Zelda then left and returned to Hyrule Castle, where she used her powers to seal Calamity Ganon, and herself, away for the next one hundred years. This halted her aging while she was sealed.

A Link Between Worlds features some gossip told to Link by the Rumor Guy. He tells Link that one of the castle staff had seen Zelda sneaking off every night. When she followed her, she saw Zelda staring at the painting in Hyrule Castle depicting the Link and Zelda from A Link to the Past cuddling with each other, implying they became more intimate with each other. This also hints the Zelda in A Link Between Worlds wants to have a similar relationship with the Link of her time.

Dr. Wily having finally managed to modify the time machine, discovers that the time machine could now only travel into the future and back, not into the past. Dr. Wily modified his plan and decided instead to spy on Mega Man’s future. Travelling approximately 37.426 years into the future (as stated in the American manual), Wily found that the future was peaceful, as his future self had reformed and Mega Man no longer needing weapons, had been reset back into a peaceful household robot. Recognizing this chance, Wily convinces his future self to abduct the now defenseless Mega Man. Dr. Wily then proceeds to capture Mega Man, and modifies him into the fighting robot Quint, reprogramming him to make him fight against the Mega Man of the present.[11][12]

^ "Video interview with FINAL FANTASY XII Directors". FINAL FANTASY XII Collector's Edition Bonus DVD. Square Enix Co., Ltd. October 31, 2006. Archived from the original on December 6, 2013. Retrieved April 8, 2011. Hiroshi Minagawa: In the course of development, Jun Akiyama and Daisuke Watanabe came up with many ideas but ultimately we had to abandon many of them. I'd heard their original ideas and I wish we could have included them all. Once we began development and many of the systems were in place, the team had many progressive ideas. It was the most enjoyable part of the project. But as we approached the project's end, I had to point out features we had to drop in order for the game to be finished. Which is unfortunate, since I'm sure people would have enjoyed the game that much more if we could have left all our original ideas in.

^ Nintendo (November 21, 1998). The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Nintendo 64. Nintendo. Great Deku Tree: Before time began, before spirits and life existed... Three golden goddesses descended upon the chaos that was Hyrule... Din, the Goddess of Power... Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom... Farore, the Goddess of Courage... Din... With her strong flaming arms, she cultivated the land and created the red earth. Nayru... Poured her wisdom onto the earth and gave the spirit of law to the world. Farore... With her rich soul, produced all life forms who would uphold the law.
In 2009, Final Fantasy XIII was released in Japan, and in North America and Europe the following year, for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[25][26] It is the flagship installment of the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy series[27] and became the first mainline game to spawn two direct sequels (XIII-2 and Lightning Returns).[28] It was also the first game released in Chinese & High Definition along with being released on two consoles at once. Final Fantasy XIV, a MMORPG, was released worldwide on Microsoft Windows in 2010, but it received heavy criticism when it was launched, prompting Square Enix to rerelease the game as Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, this time to the PlayStation 3 as well, in 2013.[29] Final Fantasy XV is an action role-playing game that was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2016.[30][31] Originally a XIII spin-off titled Versus XIII, XV uses the mythos of the Fabula Nova Crystallis series, although in many other respects the game stands on its own and has since been distanced from the series by its developers.[32][33][34][35][36][37]
Up until Breath of the Wild, the Legend of Zelda series avoided using voice acting in speaking roles, relying instead on written dialogue. Series producer Eiji Aonuma previously stated that as Link is entirely mute, having the other characters speak while Link remains silent "would be off-putting".[9] Instead of theme music for different locations, Breath of the Wild plays natural ambience around the player as main sounds, in addition to some minimalist piano music.[10]
Up smash Spark Shock 2% (hit 1), 1.5% (hits 2-6), 6% (hit 7) Mega Man turns both of his hands into electrodes, creating a powerful multi-hitting surge of electricity above him. It is overall useful due to its large hitbox, anti-air properties and quick startup, though it has noticeable ending lag. If an opponent is made tiny by a Lightning Bolt, it's possible to OHKO them. Based on Spark Man's weapon from Mega Man 3.
6% when thrown Mega Man summons an orbiting shield of petals. Like the Leaf Shield, it blocks projectiles, but the petals do not dissapear when hit, circulate around the user in a wider area, and deal slightly more damage. In exchange, it has slower startup (both on activation and when fired) and flies a much shorter distance when thrown at a slower speed. It also lasts a shorter duration, which can be both a harm and a help depending on the situation.
According to the in-game backstories, the world of Hyrule was created by the three golden goddesses: Din, Farore, and Nayru.[17] Before departing, the goddesses left a sacred artifact called the Triforce, which could grant powers to the user. It physically manifests itself as three golden triangles in which each embodies one of the goddesses' virtues: Power, Courage, and Wisdom.[18] However, because the Triforce has no will of its own and it could not judge between good and evil, it would grant any wish indiscriminately.[19][20] Because of this, it was placed within an alternate world called the "Sacred Realm" or the "Golden Land" until one worthy of its power and has balanced virtues of Power, Wisdom, and Courage in their heart could obtain it, in its entirety. If a person is not of a balanced heart, the triforce part that the user mostly believes in will stay with that person and the remainder will seek out others. In order to master and control the triforce as a whole, the user must get the other parts found in other individuals and bring them together to reunite them. The Sacred Realm can itself be affected by the heart of those who enters it: those who are pure will make it a paradise, while those who are evil will transform it into a dark realm.[21]
Princess Zelda plays a much larger role in Spirit Tracks than in previous installments, as she herself also aids Link in the salvation of Hyrule. Near the beginning of the game, Link travels to Hyrule Castle to see Zelda and become an official train conductor. Because he is an engineer and the apprentice of Alfonzo, who was once the head of the castle guard, Zelda asks Link to secretly meet her in her quarters later to discuss something with him. Zelda explains to Link that she needs to get to the Tower of Spirits to personally investigate the disappearance of the Spirit Tracks, which she attributes to something that Chancellor Cole is hiding.
Despite being a popular favorite with videogamers, Megaman hasn't had a new entry in years... until now. MEGA MAN 11 is a glorious love letter to past MM adventures. To a fault, it doesn't do anything majorly revolutionary, but considering the variable output of its sequels, it's at least gratifying to know that this turned out very well and easily better than the disappointing MIGHTY NO. 9. The game introduces a new "Double Gear" system, which provides opportunities for powering up or slowing down. Both of these are great additions. The gameplay remains as fun and glorious as it did for previous Mega Man entries. The graphic style is rendered in a clean, gorgeous hand-drawn style that feels very much at home with what you'd expect from classic MEGA MAN. There are cutscenes in the game, thankfully skippable, and yes, there's voice acting. Thankfully, the voice acting is for the most part pretty good and easily better than that of MEGA MAN 8 (Dr. Light's embarrassingly awful Elmer Fudd syndrome is thankfully gone in this one). The music has yet to catch me as truly memorable. It's passable stuff, although not quite as good as in previous MEGA MAN entries. All told, though, Capcom has done a fine job of producing a game that lives up to its predecessor, and it plays exceedingly smooth on Nintendo Switch with no noticeable hiccups. Fans of classic platforming, rejoice.

Mega Man would later rank 16th on the third tier list, a very slight drop in favor of Marth claiming 10th place. Currently, however, due to his huge lack of consistent results, Mega Man is currently ranked 27th on the fourth and current tier list, suffering the largest drop between the third and fourth tier lists. Some smashers have said said that Mega Man should be higher due to his amazing projectile game and his matchup spread, while others like ZeRo think that Mega Man is overrated and that his placing is somewhat accurate.

Many course themes recur throughout the series. Most are based on an existing area in the Mario franchise (Bowser's Castle being among the most prominent), but there are a number of courses that have not appeared elsewhere, but still belong in the Mushroom Kingdom, such as Rainbow Road.[3] Each game in the series includes at least 16 original courses and up to 6 original battle arenas.[3] Each game's tracks are divided into four "cups", or groups in which the player has to have the highest overall placing to win. Most courses can be done in three laps. The first game to feature courses from previous games was Mario Kart: Super Circuit, which contained all of the tracks from the original Super NES game. Starting with Mario Kart DS, each entry in the series has featured 16 "nitro" (courses belonging to its own game) and 16 "retro" tracks (courses from previous Mario Kart games), spread across four cups each with four races. In Mario Kart 8, 16 additional tracks are available across two downloadable packages, eight for each package downloaded, including seven retro courses, four original courses, and five courses based on other Nintendo franchises, including Excitebike, F-Zero, The Legend of Zelda, and Animal Crossing.[5]